It took decades for the ill effects of tobacco on health to be made public and many nations took some more years to ban smoking in public places and spend on anti-smoking campaigns..
Between the two world wars, cigarettes were part of a soldiers rations. There was not a single film where somebody didn’t smoke. In fact in war films wounded soldiers were comforted by a cigarette; the last wishes of a condemned man was to light up one last time. Smoking was considered manly and glamorous. Catchy jingles freely advertised smoking on radio till about 1965 and companies gave away attractive gifts advertising their cigarettes.
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Cigarette breaks during prolonged hard work in the forces were encouraged. Fear, loneliness, far flung postings addicted many to smoking. Nobody saw the damage to health that smoking was causing and burning a hole in the smokers’ pocket. Things like passive smoking had not yet been heard. At the dinner table, meetings,and other occasions, the majority who smoked were cordially allowed to do so! The length of a meeting could be calculated from the overflowing ashtrays and the pall of smoke in the conference room .
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Many tobacco companies even sponsored sports teams. A company ran a nationwide contest called Made For Each Other. A married couple could take part in it if either of them smoked! The most photogenic and smart couples were chosen regionally for a national contest and the ultimate winners featured on cigarette advertisements in the media. The impact of smoking being glorified was so profound that many women preferred partners/men who smoked ! This must sound absolutely insane and incredible by today’s thinking but remember that homes then were incomplete without ashtrays, cigarette lighters and holed clothing from smoking ; the smell of tobacco smoke was not considered offensive.
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After the statutory warning , the high cost of smoking and the ban of smoking in public places,the number of smokers may have reduced and benefitted those who are allergic to tobacco smoke. The irony is that one can freely chew any mix of tobacco today but not smoke in public! Are the tobacco chewers causing secondary damage to people around? We do not know yet .
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I was a victim of those times and began smoking quite early. When companions said, ” Come on, try one at least,” I fell prey to it and coughed and smoked for the first time. Soon it became a few puffs and that was enough for me to get into the habit which I did not know would take a vicelike grip on me. I do not blame my companions nor should you for the bad habits you acquire. You have the choice of either avoiding such company or be strong willed to resist. Smoking is definitely a vile habit and once you pick it up you live under the shadow of cancer. It is a veil over your life that prevents you from seeing things in their correct perspective. I smoked by the packets and by the carton for decades- on waking up, with tea, after breakfast, at the morning tea break, at meetings, when concentrating on important tasks, a few after lunch, then at afternoon tea, in between games of badminton, with my tipple and after dinner. If I kept up late which was the norm for a decade I would keep lighting up until I flopped down in bed. I tried twice over a few months to quit but nicotine won and my resolve evaporated. In my own eyes and in the view of others I was an incorrigible addict: I was a real hard core smoker.
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My habit was so vicious that I would brazenly vitiate the air in the company of family and children anywhere and at any time. I stooped very low to smoke in the presence of my parents and elders.
I gained nothing but jeopardized my health and life, lost my pride and thousands went up in smoke. I who took pride in my intellect was reduced by nicotine to do inane and mindless things and I was out of control.
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Though my father and brother smoked till their premature death, this did not deter me to quit smoking. I was once vehemently against smoking therefore my becoming a smoker was the most stupid thing I did in my life. Smoking can push a man to desperate lengths- when I ran out of cigarettes at an odd hour or place I would madly go far and wide in search of a shop to buy cigarettes to feed my addiction. I smoked all kinds of cigarettes, cigars, bought tobacco pouches and rolled cigarettes, tried out a pipe and even tried bidis ( raw and rough tobacco in hand-rolled tendu leaves). Nobody, not seniors, relatives or friends ever upbraided me for smoking. My FiL once mildly advised me to reduce smoking but the demon addiction stayed.
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Nicotine robs you of self-esteem. I did not realize that there is a thing called passive smoking or that smokers can make others uncomfortable, sick and breathe secondary smoke. I never considered that around me there could be people with allergies to smoke, particularly cigarette smoke. That I am still around could be because I was a very active sportsman and of very robust constitution and good immunity. Although I have been fortunate to have survived years of self-poisoning, I am paying a relatively small price for it- sneezing bouts, runny nose and the smoker’s cough that comes on erratically; my voice has become harsher and rasping. I have not yet got cancer but when and if it strikes it will be justified for the excesses I have done to myself.
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Luckily I do not have emphysem , have not suffered a stroke or had other health complications. After I stopped games I did not drive anywhere when I could walk; besides, each morning I walked briskly in the oxygen rich morning air. My pulse rate would be up and my heart and lungs got a good workout. My feet began to act like auxiliary pumps for good blood circulation- my B.P. is at 120/80; doctors tell me that my lungs are clear. This in no way should encourage anybody to smoke and hope to get away. Smoking kills!
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During my visit to London a decade ago, the high cost of cigarettes, the concerted campaign against smoking, its ban in public places and the home fitted with smoke sensors all helped my resolve to quit. When I did so for weeks and then months, nobody at home believed that I had done so; they thought that I was smoking on the quiet and if not I would be back to it after some time like my earlier failed attempts. This time I needed no substitutes or reminders from anybody to combat the temptation of nicotine. I think that after smoking for 42 years, my guardian angel was with me because I did not suffer from withdrawal symptoms or pangs or feel the urge at any time to smoke. For the first few years, in my nightmares though, I was horrified to find myself smoking just that one cigarette- when I got up , this jolt strengthened my resolve to continue my fight against smoking.
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There came many benefits from quitting; my sense of smell returned strongly and my appetite improved; my skin tone became better and my frame filled out; joint pains that had afflicted me stopped. I slept better and my tongue lost its furriness and my oral hygiene improved to the extent that my past excesses would allow; my health is better and now I do not need regular antacids. My oxygen intake is better and I have no problem walking a kilometre with a few kilos bag without breaking a sweat or climbing stairs without gasping.
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I can walk five kilometres easily in an hour and not feel any ill effects. The only reminder that I was an addicted smoker is a small spot in my lung that generates phlegm. I am hopeful that my body is on the mend very slowly. The hefty savings that have been made, allow me to spend on myself and the family without second thoughts and in treating myself to things that I had been denying myself. Like they said in one of the posters in the UK, it is cash from ash! Whether these gains give me an illness-free longer life only time will tell.
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I will celebrate nine years of a smoke-free life and I am confident that I will stay out of the clutches of the most dangerous addiction in human history. When I see the many young lungs inhaling this vile smoke I feel sorry that despite full knowledge that tobacco causes cancer, they have chosen a death wish. I wish to say that do not try out smoking; it is the most addictive thing known to man and extremely difficult to quit but not impossible. Once you are habituated it will take charge of your life and destroy it. If my story can inspire a few persons to quit smoking I will feel that I have done something for society. Together we can make an impact in saving many from the ravages of smoking.
